


Carmelita 2.0

by A_God_A_Vampire_And_Two_Heirs_Of_Durin



Series: Pets [2]
Category: Being Human (UK), The Almighty Johnsons
Genre: In Memory of Carmelita, M/M, Mitchell wants another pet, Patch the rabbit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-08
Updated: 2014-08-08
Packaged: 2018-02-12 09:11:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2103909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_God_A_Vampire_And_Two_Heirs_Of_Durin/pseuds/A_God_A_Vampire_And_Two_Heirs_Of_Durin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Do you want one more pet, or do you want an entire zoo?” Anders asked, raising an eyebrow at the vampire, who just stared back at him as though nothing was wrong.</p>
<p>“I’ve only asked for a guinea pig,” he replied.</p>
<p>“Yes, but if I say yes to the guinea pig,” the blond god went back to typing emails to his clients, “Next thing I know, you’ll be asking for a hamster, a cat, a dog, more fish and a parrot as well.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Carmelita 2.0

**Author's Note:**

> So, in between writing for my reincarnation verse, I've taken the opportunity to write more fluff, because seriously, who doesn't love Anders/Mitchell fluff? :)

“I think Patch wants a friend,” Mitchell commented as he watched their pet rabbit hop around quite unassumingly in the run that Mike had built them, albeit rather grudgingly.

Anders frowned.

“Really, babe?” he asked, leaning over from where he was sat at the table with his laptop to look out into their new garden. “She looks perfectly happy at the moment.”

“No she doesn’t, she looks lonely,” the vampire insisted. “Come on, Anders, can’t we get her a friend?”

“We bought ourselves a house, Mitchell,” Anders pointed out, taking one more look at Patch, who was tucking into some grass, before going back to his work. “And we bought a house with a garden so that Patch would have somewhere to run about in. Do we need to buy anything else yet?”

“It’s just one more pet,” Mitchell said. He sat down opposite his boyfriend and gave him his best pleading expression. “Can we get a guinea pig?”

“Do you want one more pet, or do you want an entire zoo?” Anders asked, raising an eyebrow at the vampire, who just stared back at him as though nothing was wrong.

“I’ve only asked for a guinea pig,” he replied.

“Yes, but if I say yes to the guinea pig,” the blond god went back to typing emails to his clients, “Next thing I know, you’ll be asking for a hamster, a cat, a dog, more fish and a parrot as well.”

Mitchell looked a little sheepish at that and decided to try a different tactic.

“But I thought you loved animals,” he said, “I come home from work and half the time Patch has escaped around the living room because you’ve fallen asleep watching television with her on the sofa.”

Anders sighed.

“This is not about whether I love animals or not, Mitchell,” he said, “This is about whether you can restrain yourself from turning this place into a pet shop and whether we can afford another pet just now; we do have bills to pay, you know. And we’ll have to get Mike to make another run and another hutch for this guinea pig.”

“It’s just a guinea pig,” Mitchell practically whined, “We don’t have to pay for the cleaner anymore so we’ve saved some money on that. I’ll even uphold my end of the bargain by doing the washing up.”

“Is that all you were planning on doing?” Anders asked, a smirk spreading across his lips as he suddenly realised how much he could convince the vampire to do around the house. “I think you’ll need to learn how to use a vacuum cleaner as well.”

Mitchell shrugged.

“I can do that.”

“Fine, we’re having a trial period of a week. Then I’ll reconsider whether or not we can get a guinea pig.”

Mitchell positively beamed at him, before knocking most of the paperwork off the table as he leaned over for a kiss.

* * *

“Mitchell! Mitchell, what are you doing? The washing up is not going to do itself, you know!”

Anders sighed as he stood at the bottom of the stairs calling for his boyfriend to make an appearance. The vampire had made the excuse after dinner that he needed to go to the bathroom but now, half an hour later, he had yet to come back downstairs, and the dirty plates and cutlery were still waiting on the kitchen work surface. Half of it was only going in the dishwasher, but apparently that was beyond him as well.

“Mitchell, seriously, where are you?” Anders tried again as he hurried up the stairs and onto the landing.

The bathroom was empty and the door to the spare bedroom turned home office was closed and the light was off, which left only their shared bedroom as the vampire’s possible hiding place. Rolling his eyes, the blond opened the door to find Mitchell lying on their bed, trying to look engrossed in a random book that he’d picked up off their bookshelf.

“I’m reading, go away,” he said as Anders’ entered, already knowing that the other man was leaning against the doorframe and glaring at him disapprovingly.

“No, you’re not, you’re avoiding the washing up.”

“No, I just really wanted to finish this chapter.”

“John, you don’t even know which book you’re reading. I thought you wanted this guinea pig? Today is Wednesday; you lasted two days of this trial week. Is the washing up really that difficult?”

“Fine,” Mitchell cried, throwing the book to one side, “Yes, it really is that difficult.”

“Do you even remember why you hated the washing up in the first place?”

Mitchell avoided the blond’s gaze as he answered.

“No, not really.”

Anders laughed fondly at that, coming over to sit next to the vampire on their bed.

“You still failed the trial week,” he said, lacing their fingers together, “So my decision on the guinea pig still stands.”

Mitchell pouted and buried his head into the mattress. Anders watched him in amusement for a little while, waiting for him to move and mumble something about going to see Patch as he usually did; the poor rabbit often found herself being stared at by a vampire who wasn’t entirely sure what else to do with himself.

So it was mildly surprising when Mitchell merely lifted his head and stated:

“It’s my birthday next week.”

“I’m aware of that. I’m not so much of a bad boyfriend that I’d forgotten your birthday.”

“Good, because I want a guinea pig for my birthday.”

“Seriously?” Anders asked, “Because I was hoping that several rounds of birthday sex would suffice as a suitable present.”

“Nope,” Mitchell shook his head firmly, “I want a guinea pig.”

Anders managed to hold back for several seconds before throwing himself backwards onto the bed and laughing loudly.

“What’s so funny?” the vampire asked indignantly, “You did ask me a couple of days ago what I wanted for my birthday, and now I’m giving you an answer.”

Anders ceased laughing long enough to look sideways at his boyfriend before replying.

“You’re a hundred and something year old vampire, John, and you want a guinea pig for your birthday. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that you were going soft in your old age. But as it stands, I think it’s plain adorable.”

“Anders, I’m being serious. And I’ll be really disappointed if I don’t get what I want for my birthday, and then I definitely won’t be doing the washing up.”

* * *

And so Anders found himself standing inside a small Auckland pet shop while the woman serving them talked extraordinarily fast about how to care for a guinea pig. Every time the blond opened his mouth to tell her that they already knew that thank you very much, Mitchell elbowed his sharply and he was forced to keep quiet.

“So, let me take you through to see our guinea pigs,” the woman said finally, turning and heading towards the door at the back of the shop. “Follow me, please.”

Anders was pretty sure that the vampire was now literally bouncing up and down beside him with excitement, and the fact that he shot him a warning glare was the only reason that the brunet had not squealed out loud. Instead, he just grabbed the blond’s hand and dragged him after the woman.

The backroom was filled with a number of different animals with an alcove off to one side dedicated to guinea pigs. Mitchell was over there in a second, cooing over the creatures as nearly all of them fled at the sight of him.

“I do apologise,” Anders said to the shop owner who was standing beside him, “He doesn’t act like an excited seven year old all the time, he’s an adult really.”

The woman just laughed and went over to ask the vampire if he wanted to hold any of the animals. After much debate, Mitchell finally chose one that he liked, turning around to face Anders with the guinea pig in his arms.

“So, what do you think?” he asked, “Isn’t she cute?”

Anders just stared at the poor thing. It wasn’t so much a guinea pig as a small ball of fluff, it was nearly impossible to see any features apart from copious amounts of fur. The creature looked like it had been through a wind tunnel and then had static applied to it.

“Anders?” Mitchell was still waiting for an answer.

“Are you sure there’s even a guinea pig under there?” the blond finally managed to say, “Because all I’m seeing is fur.”

“Of course, look!” Mitchell held the animal up with surprising delicacy so that his boyfriend could see the little face amongst the fluff. “We have to get her. She’s adorable.”

“She’ll get fur all over the carpet and the sofa,” Anders pointed, ignoring the look of confusion from the shop owner; she didn’t need to know that they had a habit of curling up on the sofa with Patch between them most evenings.

“I’ll vacuum it up.”

“Really, Mitchell? Now, where have I heard that one before?”

“I will, honest,” the vampire insisted, “It’s my birthday present, you can’t say no.”

Anders sighed heavily.

“Fine,” he said, “We’ll get the guinea pig.”

Mitchell grinned widely, giving the ball of fluff in his arms one last cuddle before handing her over to the shop owner, who took her away to put her in a carrying box to take home.

“Will you need any food for her?” the woman asked as Anders was getting out his wallet to pay.

“Yes, please,” the blond nodded, looking over to where his boyfriend was happily talking to the cardboard box in his arms. “We really should have planned this through; I think we’re going to need a hutch as well. I hope this all fits in the boot of my car.”

“Right, a hutch as well,” the woman nodded, pushing a catalogue towards him, “If you could just choose one, sir, and I’ll go and fetch it for you.”

It was at that point that Mitchell wandered over and leaned over Anders’ shoulder.

“We don’t need a hutch actually,” he said, giving the woman a wide smile when she frowned at him.

“Mitchell, yes we do,” the blond god said, flicking through the catalogue.

“No, we don’t, I’ve got it all sorted,” the vampire said, “We’ll just be needing some food, if that’s alright?”

Slightly bemused, the woman fetched them a bag of food, and an equally confused Anders paid for everything before leading Mitchell out of the shop and back to his car.

“She’s going to need a name,” the vampire said as soon as they were on their way home. “Didn’t you used to have a guinea pig when you were younger? I think Mike mentioned something about it.”

“Why have you been talking to Mike about my guinea pig?” Anders took his eyes off the road for a second to cast a suspicious glance at him boyfriend.

“No reason,” Mitchell dismissed the blond’s question, “So, what was your guinea pig’s name?”

“Carmelita,” Anders replied, his mind flooding with images of his beloved pet. He couldn’t decide whether having bought another guinea pig was betraying his refusal to own another when Carmelita had died, or whether he was just honouring her memory in some way. He quickly decided, though, that if having another pet was going to make Mitchell happy, then he couldn’t really think of it as anything but positive.

In the passenger seat, the vampire nodded.

“So, Carmelita 2.0?” he asked innocently.

Anders nearly stalled the car in horror.

“No! We are not calling the poor creature that!”

Mitchell shrugged.

“Alright, how about Fluffy?”

“Fluffy? Really, Mitchell? Your pet naming skills are outdoing themselves today.”

Mitchell made an indignant noise.

“You didn’t exactly come up with any suggestions, did you?” He opened the flaps of the cardboard box in his lap to peer in at the animal inside. “Hello, Fluffy, how do you like your new name?”

Anders rolled his eyes.

“She’s sighing internally and asking herself exactly how vampires can become so soppy,” he said, casting another glance over at his boyfriend and starting in shock at the fact that Mitchell was currently trying to get Fluffy out of the box and into his arms. “Mitchell! Put her down, she’s probably absolutely terrified right now!”

* * *

They managed to get Fluffy home in one piece and Anders sent Mitchell out into the garden to fetch Patch so that she could meet her new friend. The vampire returned with an armful of rabbit a few minutes later and discovered that the blond had already got Fluffy out and was watching her as she picked her way carefully across the kitchen floor.

“Hey, Patch, this is your new friend, Fluffy,” Anders said, “Fluffy, meet Patch.”

Carefully, Mitchell lowered the rabbit to the floor and let her hop out of his arms, before settling down next to his boyfriend, both of them keeping an eye on their two pets to make sure that they didn’t have to grab one out of the way hurriedly if the other decided that they weren’t happy with the company.

Any worries they might have had were unfounded though when Patch bounded over to Fluffy, sniffed her a bit, the guinea pig returning the sentiment, and then just settled down next to her. Fluffy looked a little unnerved at first, but then relaxed and let the rabbit sit beside her.

“They’re going to be great friends,” Mitchell commented as he and Anders watched them like proud parents.

“You still haven’t explained why we don’t need another hutch,” the blond god started to say, when suddenly the doorbell rang. “Who on Earth can that be?”

Mitchell grinned.

“Probably the answer to the hutch question,” he replied, “You grab Fluffy and I’ll get Patch, they’re most likely conspiring on how to escape together when we open the door.”

It turned out that it was Mike on the other side of the door, a large hutch held in his arms.

“Right,” he said, “Where do you want it?”

“This way,” Mitchell ushered him in, ignoring the look of surprise on Anders’ face as they crossed the hallway towards the back door.

They found a place for the hutch, facing Patch’s so that the pair could see each other, and then Mike went back out to his truck and brought through another run, placing that side by side with the original one.

“Thanks, Mike,” Mitchell said once everything was done, shutting the door behind the eldest Johnson brother.

“I assume that Mike told you about Carmelita when you asked him to build us a guinea pig hutch,” Anders said as they took both Patch and Fluffy outside, Mitchell grabbing the supplies to fill the new hutch with as they went.

“Yeah,” the vampire said distractedly as Patch tried to make a leap for freedom onto the grass.

“And how long ago was this conversation?” Anders asked in amusement, “I find it hard to believe that Mike built that in one afternoon. Well, to be honest, I’m surprised Mike built it in the first place after all his grumbling about the first one.”

Mitchell tried to avoid his questioning by hurrying back towards the house and into the living room, the blond giving chase and finally cornering him by the sofa.

“Seriously, when did you ask him?”

“About a week ago,” Mitchell finally replied.

“Before I said yes?”

“Maybe.”

Anders shook his head fondly and pushed the vampire down onto the sofa.

“Right, and now we’ve put Patch and Fluffy to bed, I think we can enjoy this evening by ourselves.”

Mitchell grinned, letting Anders crawl on top of him and kiss him soundly for several minutes, before casting a glance over towards the other side of the room while the blond was catching his breath.

“That table looks a little bare,” he said, pointing over at the small coffee table against the wall. It was true that it did look rather empty, but it currently housed a small lamp which served at least some purpose.

“Really?” Anders frowned, not particularly amused about the fact that the vampire was worrying about interior design while he was trying to kiss him.

“Yeah,” his boyfriend nodded with a grin, “It would look great with a hamster cage on it.”

“Mitchell!”


End file.
